The Thinking Dancer: Working at the Barre – Basic Ballet 8 (1995)

$25.00

Taught by Finis Jhung.

Levels 2 & Up: All Regions DVD. 117 minutes. 13 exercises.

Description

Take it, teach it, or simply watch it—viewers say this video is mesmerizing. It’s the barre to end all barres. In detail, Finis answers all the questions teachers and students has asked for years: what is the dancer’s relationship with the barre; what are the exercises supposed to accomplish; what muscles do you use and when; how do you breathe; what about “pull-up;” how do you keep from “tensing up;” what should you be thinking during each exercise? Learn new, effective ways to do traditional exercises. Geared towards today’s dancer, who must perform a variety of dancing styles, this barre is unique in structure, the order of exercises, and the choice of movements, tempi, and dynamics. The demonstrator is Noriko Naraoka. The CD music is by Bill Brown.

  1. Warm-up stretches facing the barre
  2. Pliés in 1st, 2nd, 4th & 5th positions with stretches
  3. Battement tendu in 1st position, facing the barre
  4. Battement tendu in 1st position, with stretches
  5. Battement tendu in 5th position, with stretch & balance
  6. Battement tendu and dégagé in 5th position, with balance
  7. Foot pushes, dégagés, pas de chevals in 1st position
  8. Rond de jambe par terre, en l’air, with stretches
  9. Adagio for stretch & balance
  10. Battement frappé
  11. Battement fondu
  12. Petit battement sur le cou-de-pied
  13. Grand battement

Play the DVD in 3 modes: Full Class, Individual Exercises or Workout Mode where you can run the exercises without instruction. Once you’ve learned the exercise and heard the instructions, you may want to go straight to the demonstration with music so you can have a work-out without interruption.

You can find this feature on these videos.

The following DVDs don’t have the SPECIAL FEATURE but do allow you to skip the Instructions and go straight to the demonstration with music by using the SKIP FORWARD button:

  1. The Finis Jhung Ballet Technique: Stretch, Turn-out, & Extension
  2. The Finis Jhung Ballet Technique: The Power Barre
Streaming Playback

Streaming videos that offer the “Workout Mode / Nonstop Class” feature Streaming videos that offer the “Workout Mode / Nonstop Class” feature may be found here.

Most streaming videos do not offer multiple playback modes. Each DVD chapter/exercise is presented as an individual video. Once you complete an exercise, the next will play automatically. There is currently no “workout mode” available for most streaming videos.

I’ve been doing your DVDs with my mother in her 60s. It’s helping her out a lot with learning to keep her balance and have good posture. Even the slightest movements have helped strengthen her muscles. We love you.”

— Trula Hudelson

“Mr. Jhung’s work is comparable to Vaganova meeting the space age: relaxed stretches, yogic postures, modern dance movements, his own innovative approach, and strictly classical, traditional ballet technique are joined together in a workout which is at once simple and highly exacting. The attention to details and brilliance in innovative concepts is staggering.”

— Lesandre Ayrey, The Way of Dance, Coarsegold, CA

“Finis is a teacher’s teacher; his methods should be required education for serious ballet teachers schooled in conventional ways. Just watching Finis demonstrate is an education in itself—he makes the link between technique and artistry so clear and accessible.”

— Patty Neivert, Patty Neivert School of Dance, Westminster, MD

About your purchasing choices…

FJ Streaming Singles We have released several brief videos (for example, our Foot Strength and Dance at Home series) which are only available to stream online. You will not receive a DVD, but may watch instantly upon completing your purchase.

DVD vs. Streaming

You’ll notice you have purchasing options on nearly all of the Finis Jhung Instructional Videos:

Streaming Playback

Streaming videos that offer the “Workout Mode / Nonstop Class” feature may be found here.

Most streaming videos do not offer multiple playback modes. Each DVD chapter/exercise is presented as an individual video. Once you complete an exercise, the next will play automatically. There is currently no “workout mode” available for most streaming videos.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

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